Call to action on climate change and health

‘Call to action on climate change
and health’ from health organisations

Ten New
Zealand health organisations have released a joint ‘Call
to Action on Climate Change and Health’ today.

The ten
organisations, including national professional bodies for
doctors, nurses, midwives and medical students, say they
recognise climate change as an increasingly serious and
urgent threat to health and fairness in New Zealand and
worldwide. In contrast, they point to specific policy
responses that provide exciting opportunities to improve
health and create a fairer society.

The ‘Call to
Action’ identifies serious health threats for New
Zealanders, including direct impacts from extreme heat and
weather events, changing patterns of infectious disease, and
rising food prices impacting on nutrition.

“There will
also be flow-on health effects from climate change impacts
on people’s livelihoods and homes in New Zealand and the
Pacific – causing forced migration and mental health
impacts” say Dr Rhys Jones and Dr Alex Macmillan,
Co-convenors of OraTaiao: The NZ Climate and Health Council.
“New Zealand has already had its first claim for refugee
status on the basis of climate change impacts on Kiribati
– this is a clear warning about what lies ahead” says Dr
Jones.

“These health impacts will be worst for Maori,
Pacific people, children, the elderly and low income
households, worsening the unfair distribution of ill-health
that already exists here” Dr Jones adds.

However the
‘Call to Action’ is also hopeful in stating that
well-planned government and societal action on climate
change in New Zealand could improve health and fairness if
implemented urgently.

“Rapid moves to much more walking,
cycling and public transport; a transition to healthier
plant based diets; and energy efficient, warm homes will all
help cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while also reducing
heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease”
says Dr Macmillan. “New Zealand’s carbon-intensive
health sector should be leading by reducing its own
emissions and helping society adapt to expected climate
change impacts.”

The ‘Call to Action on Climate Change
and Health’ calls for a rapid, society-wide transition to
a low GHG-emitting nation, in a way that improves health and
fairness. It also calls for New Zealand to be a better
leader in pushing for effective and fair global action to
reduce GHG emissions.

“This call to action highlights
climate change as a key health issue that requires an urgent
response. The next five years really are ‘make or break’
in terms of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change and
reaping the benefits, so we need leaders who can contribute
effectively to global action. It is important that this is
in New Zealanders’ minds as they vote over the coming
days” Dr Macmillan
ends.

ENDS

Notes to
editors:

Dr Rhys Jones (Ngati Kahungunu) (rg.jones@auckland.ac.nz) is a Public
Health Physician and Senior Lecturer in Maori Health at the
University of Auckland. He is Co-convenor of OraTaiao: The
New Zealand Climate and Health Council.

Dr Alex Macmillan
(alex.macmillan@otago.ac.nz) is a Public
Health Medicine Specialist and Senior Lecturer in
Environmental Health at the University of Otago Dunedin. Her
research expertise is in the intersecting areas of urban
planning, climate change and public health. She is Acting
Co-convenor of OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate and Health
Council.

OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate & Health
Council comprises senior doctors and other health
professionals concerned with climate change as a serious
public health threat. They also promote the positive health
gains that can be achieved through action to address climate
change. See: www.orataiao.org.nz

Background

The
‘Climate Change and Health: Health Professionals Joint
Call for Action’ September 2014 is available at www.orataiao.org.nz. An abridged version
was published in the NZ Herald on Tuesday 16th September on
Page 9.

Human-caused
climate change is a serious and urgent threat to human
health. Climate change and its environmental effects (e.g.
warmer temperatures, more heat waves, altered rainfall
patterns, more extreme weather such as heavy rainfall events
and/or drought, tropical storms, sea-level rise) result in
many risks to human health, both direct and indirect, that
are recognised by world health authorities and leading
medical journals alike.

Globally, leading health threats
include water and food shortages, extreme weather events,
and changing patterns of infectious disease. In NZ there
will also be new health and social pressures relating to
climate migrant and refugee populations arriving in NZ and
flow-on health impacts from changes in the global economy.
NZ already has a relatively high burden of several diseases
that are sensitive to climatic conditions, and climate
trends may already be affecting the health of New
Zealanders.

The health impacts of climate change most
seriously affect people in developing countries, and the
most disadvantaged and vulnerable within all
countries.

Health Co-benefits of Climate
Action

Addressing climate change is an
opportunity to improve population health and reduce
inequities (unfair differences in health between different
population groups). In NZ, well-designed policies to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions can bring about substantial health
co-benefits including reductions in heart disease, cancer,
obesity, Type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disease,
respiratory disease, and motor vehicle injuries, and
improvements in mental health - with resultant cost savings
for the health care system.

These co-benefits arise
because some emission reductions measures impact on
important determinants of health, especially energy intake
(nutrition) and expenditure (physical movement). Housing
insulation, clean energy, great public transport and safer
walking and cycle ways will all give a double benefit. They
give immediate health benefits, especially to New Zealand's
poorest families, and also lead the way on reducing carbon
emissions. For example:

• Active transport
(walking, cycling, public transport) improves physical
activity, reduces emissions, and can reduce air pollution
and road traffic injuries. Walking and cycling are
inexpensive, and public transport is used proportionately
more by people with lower incomes – with benefits to
health, climate and equity.

• Healthy eating,
including increased plant and less red meat and animal fat
consumption, would reduce the emissions associated with food
production and likely lead to reduced rates of bowel cancer
and heart disease.

• Improving indoor
environments (e.g. energy efficiency measures such as home
insulation) can reduce illnesses associated with cold, damp
housing (e.g. childhood asthma and chest infections which
are leading causes of hospital admissions, particularly for
Maori and Pacific children).

• Increasing energy
efficiency and/or moving away from fossil fuels would reduce
health-damaging air pollution (e.g. particulates) from fuel
combustion, in both indoor and outdoor environments, with
large health
gains.

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